News to Note, December 15, 2012

1. Parent’s Worst Nightmare in Newtown, Connecticut

Every parent’s worst nightmare strikes in Newtown, Connecticut.

2. Ancient Egyptian King Found Etched in Stone

Image of ancient king who unified Egypt found etched in stone.

3. Full-Size Replica of Noah’s Ark Complete in the Netherlands

Full-size replica of Noah’s Ark in the Netherlands is complete.

4. Sungrazing Comet for Christmas

Sungrazing comet promises a great show for Christmas 2013.

5. A Greater Evolutionary Ancestral Family

Recalibration of molecular clock marches ape-human divergence back to encompass a greater evolutionary ancestral family.

And Don’t Miss . . .

• How do kids raised by same-sex gay partners fare in life? A study of a large sample of cases published this year in Social Science Research raises serious concerns. Author Mark Regnerus says his unbiased team was not concerned about politics. His results “call into question simplistic notions of ‘no differences.’” Comparing adult children raised by same-sex female partners to those raised in heterosexual and single parent homes, Regnerus concludes:

  Even after including controls for age, race, gender, and things like being bullied as a youth, or the gay-friendliness of the state in which they live, such respondents were more apt to report being unemployed, less healthy, more depressed, more likely to have cheated on a spouse or partner, smoke more pot, had trouble with the law, report more male and female sex partners, more sexual victimization, and were more likely to reflect negatively on their childhood family life, among other things. Why such dramatic differences? I can only speculate, since the data are not poised to pinpoint causes. One notable theme among the adult children of same-sex parents, however, is household instability, and plenty of it. The children of fathers who have had same-sex relationships fare a bit better, but they seldom reported living with their father for very long, and never with his partner for more than three years.”

  Regnerus also reports that products of same-sex homes have more problems with anxiety, depression, and relationship-building. The traditional family designed by God, with a stable marriage of one man and one woman, is—not surprisingly—the best choice for children and for society. These results confirm that laws permitting homosexual couples to adopt children are not good for either children or for society.